Detroit Has Little to Gain from Free Trade with Japan

With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington to meet President Barack Obama and address Congress last week, automakers were watching for signs of progress toward a controversial free-trade pact.

The U.S. carmakers, in particular, were watching nervously – and rightly so.

The Detroit 3 have little to gain by having Japan in the deal, even if the U.S. wins auto import concessions from Tokyo.

The U.S. is leading the push to create the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations. But autos remain a stubborn sticking point between the group's anchor economies: the U.S. and Japan. Click here to read more.